Yoda said the darkside was not greater just quicker, but that might be an article of faith.

Personally I like to have a balance of lightside/darkside characters, it makes the overall experience a bit richer.

Peace can be found, above all passions. Through passion, I may gain strength.
Through strength, I may gain power. Through power, I may gain victory.
But for every enemy fallen, a new foe rises.
For every chain broken, new chains bind me. Only the Force can set me free.

Just wondering why people pick dark side and not stay light side if both are equal in power. No reason?

Or just in this game they were equal for gameplay purposes?

Good question.

From experience, I guess it comes down mainly to the race I choose, my perception concerning their overall background and the voice acting. My mood for the day when I start that character also helps as well but there are some exceptions for sure...

For instance, my sorcerer, unlike my assassin, was supposed to be LS in theory but after listening to the female voice acting, she being a rattataki, her look and so forth, I ended up going DS mostly. It just feels more natural to me overall.

Still, to each his own, though I'm not fan of the "dark for the sake of being dark" perspective or vice-versa.

the reason the avrage sith apprentice could take down a padawan or avrage jedi even jedi masters for that matter is due to the fact
to become a sith apprentice you got to be better than avarage
you have to kill to get the job

the reason the avrage sith apprentice could take down a padawan or avrage jedi for that matter is due to the fact
to become a sith apprentice you got to be better than avarage
you have to kill to get the job

This is totally right. However, early in a force-users development the dark side is much easier than keeping to the light. The Dark Side is permissive, and doesn't even really penalize you much for straying from time to time. One a force-user reaches their prime, that aspect of the darkside no longer makes progression any easier.

Essentially it seems that developing the discipline and focus of the light side makes it take longer to get all the basics down, as you're dividing your efforts, while the dark side actually makes getting up to speed easier. Once they've got all the basics down and their power has matured, honing their abilities any further is just as hard for both.

Any disparity in apparent power between advanced light and dark force-users is due to the fact that darksiders tend to die early if they aren't exceptionally strong, while lightsiders can live a long and healthy life even if they barely have any power at all. So their top people are about the same, but the Jedi have a lot of weaker members filling out the ranks as well that their Sith counterparts would have horribly murdered.

^ Lightsiders don't exactly live safe, they fight all the time, just not with each other.

No, *some* lightsiders do that, and those are usually the strong ones. A great many stick to the academies, temples, and other places where they can fill a peaceful role without ever ending up in the line of fire. For the Sith, even a researcher is going to have killed a few peers by the time they're well established.

But even if you disagree, the dark side force-users lead much *more* dangerous/violent lives than their light side counterparts.

No, *some* lightsiders do that, and those are usually the strong ones. A great many stick to the academies, temples, and other places where they can fill a peaceful role without ever ending up in the line of fire. For the Sith, even a researcher is going to have killed a few peers by the time they're well established.

But even if you disagree, the dark side force-users lead much *more* dangerous/violent lives than their light side counterparts.

But thing is why go through all that trouble/danger that comes with Dark Side when you can stay Light Side and get equal power? Just trim a few years from training?

A fearful enemy is at his most dangerous.
The Fallen Lords of The Bastion
Juggernaut: Sadishist Sorcerer: Drellion

But thing is why go through all that trouble/danger that comes with Dark Side when you can stay Light Side and get equal power? Just trim a few years from training?

Because it feels good.

Seriously, think about it like this: You just found out you have superpowers. You realize you have two, *maybe* three, choices. You can A) Enter a monastery, distance yourself from your friends and family, avoid any romantic relationships for the rest of your life, and try to cultivate a nebulously defined "inner peace" to safely develop your powers. Or B) follow your instincts and embrace your emotions to fuel and direct your powers without having to sacrifice anything. The only problem being that you are told that this will eventually lead you to become a horrible evil person.

Now think about it, if someone told you this how much would you *really* believe that you could become an evil monster just because you got some cool powers and refused to become a monk. Surely you would never do any of the crazy, horrible, monstrous things you've heard about a few psychos doing, that's not who you are right? So how dangerous could it really be to keep living your life like you always have, your feelings are what make you human after all, right?

Besides, no one said you had to run off and join the Sith. You can always C) just find your own way. Maybe let the Jedi teach you how to use your powers, but once you've got what you need they can't make you live like a monk, they'll just kick you out of the order. No big deal there, you don't really want to live that life anyway. It's not like you're going to suddenly start murdering or torturing people, you just want to go back to living a fulfilling and enjoyable life of your own.

...

That's why people take the easy road. Either right away, or once the constant discipline and self-restraint begins to become intolerable. While some people manage to stay "Grey", a lot end up taking the very tempting road all the way down, because it starts with small things and snowballs into bigger things before you catch yourself. You can see a number of dark-side force users who weren't nice people, but weren't looking to blow up random planets for no reason either.

You don't have to go full-on evil to become a powerful dark-side force user, but after a while it can be hard to remember why you aren't committing atrocities for kicks if you let yourself get carried away or end up under the influence of someone who enables you and pushes you to bigger and badder exploits.

There's a lot more I could say on this, but it's largely an expansion of the above.

I can tell you this though. If I became a force user, within a year I'd be fully aligned to the dark-side. Not by choice, but by simple nature. I can't let go, I can't detach from my feelings and instincts, and I will give into my passions. Simple as that.

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The statements and opinions expressed on these websites are solely those of their respective authors and do not necessarily reflect the views, nor are they endorsed by Bioware, LucasArts, and its licensors do not guarantee the accuracy of, and are in no way responsible for any content on these websites.